Cultural politics feed a growing rift within the Capilano Students’ Union
Capilano Courier Editorial Team (anon)
On Nov. 10, 2023, five members of the Capilano Students’ Union (CSU) voted to call a special meeting of the Board of Directors to overturn a decision made in another meeting on October 6. The decision in question was made to withhold the pay of VP Student Affairs Manmeet Singh following a months-long period of excused and unexcused absences from board meetings.
The special meeting was called by the order of: International Students Liaison Karandeep Singh Dhillon, At-Large Representative Arshleen Kaur, Arts & Sciences Representative Abhijit Rai, VP Equity & Sustainability Manbir Singh and VP Finance & Services Akshit Kansra.
None of the listed executives responded to a request for comment.
During the meeting, many amendments to the original motion were made in attempts to justify the restoration of Manmeet Singh’s salary. Karandeep Singh Dhillon, in support of the defendant, said that “it’s more about doing his job than it is about attending board meetings.” This comment received prompt criticism from multiple board members who noted that attendance was the “bare minimum” of an executive’s job.
Manbir Singh proposed that an amendment be made to the motion that would essentially put the defendant on probation for the remainder of his current term. Manmeet Singh would still receive all of the pay for the months that he was chronically absent, but would have pay suspended if he did not attend future meetings for any non-emergency-related reason.
Critics of the motion reminded attendants that the duty of an elected official at the CSU is to represent the student body and to engage in activities pertaining to their position. While it is plausible to pay Manmeet Singh for future months if his behaviour improves, there would be no reason to restore pay for the months in which he was not performing the duties for which he was being paid.
Neither the defendant nor his supporters on the board could provide any legal reason to restore Manmeet Singh’s pay.
After a lengthy discussion, in which the Board of Directors spoke in confidentiality, the meeting came to a vote. Seven members voted in favour of restoring Manmeet Singh’s pay, while seven members voted against. Akshit Kansra, meeting chair and one of the original supporters of the motion, declined to break the tie with his vote. Therefore, the motion failed, and Manmeet Singh will not be paid for his months of absence.
Meeting attendants worried that this vote would erode CapU students’ trust in their students’ union. “It definitely made me lose a lot of trust in a lot of the CSU directors,” said a meeting participant who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retribution from those involved. “The fact that the vote was tied made me feel very uneasy. There are definitely some members who are speaking and voting with the best interest of students in mind, but others who seem to care only about the pay.”
